Ride The Rockies cyclists climbed Monarch pass on their way from Gunnison to Salida Tuesday, June 16, 2009.

Sheesh.

I was feeling pretty good about starting Ride the Rockies this weekend with more than 1,800 training miles and some new size S shorts. Then I made the mistake of reading an email that included facts about the pro riders who will be a part of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge race this August.

Turns out, among other deflating facts, they ride 20,000 to 25,000 training miles each year, and their body fat stands around 5 percent.

Suddenly, my size S shorts look humongous. The many training miles I’ve suffered through in gale-force winds, suffocating heat, finger-numbing cold, on flatting tires, up escalator-steep hills and while others were sipping chilled wine on their patios, seem so … totally inadequate.

Even though I have ridden far enough in training to take me from Denver to Milwaukee and back, those confidence-deflating pros had ridden the circumference of the Earth, and then some.

So, off I go to the start of Ride the Rockies in Gunnison with my load of nut bars, butt butters, arm warmers, sun screens and ibuprofen — ready to tackle some of the same mountains the pros will be grinding over in a few months. My load has been lightened just a bit — I’m not bringing along as much confidence as I had before I opened that dang email.

In 2012 I asked Bryan Boyle if he was interested in running the Chicago Marathon — two weeks later he asked if I was interested in Ride the Rockies. I got a road bike, got on the tour, and have yet to regret it. This will be my second RTR.